just maryse

Weird Day

i wondered if i should be posting about this, but i've been pretty open about other things and well, if you know me in person, it's something that will come up.  so here goes.

my mother passed away this morning. it was a bit of a surprise. and i know it hasn't hit me yet. my mother had had health problems -- a long hospital stay in the Fall I know wore her out and her kidneys were acting up -- but other than that, she was fine, just a little tired.  i even spoke to her on sunday and she was yelling at my dad -- heh -- as she had probably done every day of their life together.

she had a heart attack. i'm relieved that it happened quickly and without an suffering. 

j and i are leaving for france this weekend.

thanks everyone.

 

 

And I'm Back!

as happy as I am to go off on vacation, I am always so happy to be back home, even if it feels almost like I never left.

but I did. and it was good even if we never made it to normandy.

 

 

It's been a year ..

what a difference a year makes.  a year ago, i was on my way to france, alone, to visit my family.  it wasn't a happy time.  j didn't want to come with me and would decide in my absence that he didn't want me in his life anymore.

but a year later, here i am freaking out about the packing and last minute shopping i need to do before flying out tonight and this time, it's under happier conditions.  i'm back home.  j's coming to france with me.  and although things between us are certainly not perfect ... they are much better.

to say this past year was a blessing in disguise, would probably be pushing it.  there were days when i thought i would really lose it and since i'd never felt that helpless before it scared me. but i got help, chemically and otherwise, and i think i can say that i've come through the other side much stronger, smarter (as if that were possible, heh) and happier.  i've learned a lot about myself and how i deal with the world and for that i'm grateful. 

we still have work to do.  but i'm glad that we get another chance. 

 

in the meantime, IT'S TIME FOR A VACATION!  as usual, we're visiting family. but we're also going to normandy, and i plan on taking lots of pictures (with my new lens) and reading (with game of thrones on my kindle), and sleeping and loafing and knitting and crocheting and drinking wine and eating cheese.

 

(i posted this picture last year but i think we can all agree that there's no such thing as too much cheese).

see you all soon!

 

Tour de Fleece 2011

in the cycling world, it's tour de france month.  it's certainly the most famous cycling race in the world, and argueably the most challenging.  and in my family, well with my dad anyway, IT'S A PRIORITY!  heh.  he was an amateur cyclist in his youth, and even today .. at 80 years old ... my dad still rides his bike.  so i grew up reading about, watching, hearing about "le tour."

in solidarity, i don't get on a bike and ride.  no, that would be better for me.  heh.  but i have been spinning.  because it's also tour de fleece month. 

my goal for the tour was to spin something every day. this is what i've made so far.

 

brain freeze bfl

 

riverwalk bfl

 

aspen bfl

 

chocolate cherries bfl

all of this fiber is by spunky eclectic that i've accumulated over time.  i'm spinning them the same because i have a giant project in mind for later.

there's more coming. 

 

 

Eye Candy Friday

i haven't done one of these in a while.

near my parents' house is a park. and in the center of the park is this island of flowers.

Foodstuffs

it's time to get these depressing posts off the top of my blog. 

second to yarn and fiber, nothing puts a smile on the face of a knitter (or at least the knitters i know) like cheese and saucisson.

Bon Appetit!

Eye Candy Friday

hi! it's been awhile, i know.  we got back from france almost 2 weeks ago.  damn, time goes by fast.  vacation was good, but exhausting.  visiting family can feel like that you know.  and now i've also got an extra 5 lbs i need to lose.  that's what i get for eating croissants and baguettes with butter and jam until my head exploded every morning for 2 weeks.  oh well.

anyway, i'm almost done with secret project #2.  I have to hand it over on sunday.  and then i can get on with my life.  (seriously, it hasn't been that bad, i've just used that project as an excuse to be a total slacker.) september always feels like the beginning of the year for me, so i'd like to do some dyeing and maybe learn (or relearn) how to sew.  and knitting. and maybe fit some exercise in there.  and blog more.

until the next post though, i leave you with this little image from my time in france.

 

have a happy friday!

From a Cafe in France

Just a quick note from France to let you all know about a couple of things.

One:  The Autumn 2009 issue of Twist Collective is up!  And it's fantastic! Seriously.  And this issue is particularly awesome since it features a couple of my knitnighter buddies -- Yarnbee Cheryl and Splityarn Caro. (I can't find her ad right this second, but it's in there.  and it's gorgeous).  Go see.  I'll wait for you here.

And Two:  Dudes!  I'm the "Notebook" in this issue.  Seriously.  Can you believe it?  Fan-freakin'-tastic. 

Anyway, that's all.  It's Tuesday morning here in France and J and I are sitting in a cafe drinking our morning coffee and using the Cafe's free wifi.   We're having a great time but I have to say I'm a little homesick.  No one knits here!  WTF!

Happy Bastille Day!

if i were inclined, i'd give you all a little history lesson about the origins of  Bastille Day.  how it is the day that commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison by the people of Paris and all that fun stuff.  but i'm not going to do that because you all can Google "Bastille Day" and learn about it on your own.  and besides  i try not to write about stuff that i know nothing about.  (i'll talk about it though).

anyway, today Bastille Day is about military parades all over France and celebrations.  and fireworks.  lots and lots of fireworks.  during those summers when we visited relatives in France (and later on when we lived there), i remember getting so excited about seeing the fireworks at the beach with my cousins and ending the evening late at a cafe with an ice cream cone.  when i got older, the fireworks were an excuse to steal away with my friends and go scoping for boys.  and staying out half the night. 

this year, it's just a reminder that i haven't been home in two years and it's about time we planned a trip.

**************************
day 87 -- we may go in september.

V is for ...

Vaux Sur Mer

when i go to France, Vaux sur Mer (Vaux on the Sea) is where i ultimately end up.  it's where i spent my summers as a teenager, and where my parents have retired.  In the winter, it's quiet and a little depressing.  half of the shops are closed, many of the houses are inoccupied, and the skies are gray. during the months of June, July and August, though, it's vacation-o-rama (ohh another "V" word) when tourists from all over europe come for the beaches.

the beaches ... right.  i don't have a picture of the beach. 

sorry.  alrighty ... that's "V."